When I started this column two years ago, I focused on the two Pacific Coasts: the “east coast” of U.S. tech firms and venture capital centered primarily in Silicon Valley and Seattle; and the “west c…
High-tech farming needs investment and proper policies
Vietnam’s agriculture sector is aiming to be among the 15 most developed countries in the world, in which the agricultural processing sector ranks among the top 10 countries by 2030. To realise the go…
Nepal needs strategy, robust trade deals to graduate from poor club
After being labelled a least developed country, an euphemism for being one of the poorest countries in the world, for 50 years, Nepal may by 2026 climb a notch and be officially recognised as a develo…
Becoming A Developing Nation: Bangladesh reaches A Milestone
Bangladesh has stepped into a new journey as it qualified to graduate into a developing nation from a Least Developed Country (LDC) after 45 years. The United Nations Committee for Development Policy …
Swiss to Provide $71.8m Grant for Indonesia’s Economic Development
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, will provide grants of 65 million Swiss francs, or about $71.8 million, for the next four years to assist Indonesia’s economic development. O…
Switzerland commits $65 million in development aid to Indonesia
The amount set aside is for the 2021-2024 period and will focus on promoting “inclusive and sustainable development”, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced on Thursday. The new r…
How to Get the Biggest Bang for Our Clean Energy Buck in Southeast Asia
If we’re going to accelerate the global clean energy transition, we need to get smarter about how we deploy scarce climate finance overseas. Nowhere is a smarter approach needed than in one of the las…
MyDIGITAL: Malaysia’s catalyst to drive native policies and digital-first economy
With digital transformation being an important catalyst for Malaysia’s inclusive economic recovery, MyDIGITAL and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint announced today by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyi…
Malaysia fast-tracks 5G with $3.7B goverment-funded network
Malaysia has revived its stalled 5G program with the aim of going live by year-end. Announcing the plan on Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has returned to the original scheme of a go…
Is floating agriculture a nature-based solution?
Farmers of the south-central districts of Bangladesh, namely Barishal, Gopalganj, Madaripur, and Pirojpur, have been practicing floating agriculture for decades, if not centuries. But over the last tw…